Karmageddon 7

On December 9th 2009, joinees from all over the UK, and some from as far afield as Norway gathered in London for the annual Karmageddon meet. In a break from the tradition of a march through the West End of London, this time the march took place on the South Bank, and joinees handed out presents and spread the word of Join Me to the people of London.

One of the highlights of the march was an impromptu chorus of Jingle Bells with a group of buskers in a tunnel at Blackfriars. I’ve often heard it said that Londoners don’t smile, but every single person leaving that tunnel had a huge grin on their face. A lovely sight!

The joinees also performed a mass Random Act of Kindness when they bumped into a group of couch-surfers who had planned a flash-mob on the Millenium Bridge, but were going to have to cancel when nobody turned up! On hearing of their plight, the joinees stepped in and saved the day.

Events then took a surreal turn at St Paul’s Cathedral when the joinees bumped into a group of Furries, who were handing out hugs to the people of London. A few of them, still dressed as animals, even joined us in the pub later in the day.

Celebrations continued into the evening at the Paternoster pub. Excitingly, TV and radio star Richard Bacon delivered a rousing speech and officially joined the collective, and was also given the slightly-ironic honour of being the first joinee awarded the title “Tin Joinee.”

A unique piece of joinee memorabilia, the original hand-written lyrics of the Join Me song, was auctioned along with other items, and a grand total of almost £4000 was raised which was shared between St John Ambulance and St Mungo’s Homeless charity. Both of these charities provide a vital service, and the money raised will make a real difference.

Well done joinees!

Photo courtesy of Andrew Sweeney

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From the Archive… Edinburgh

Edinburgh has always been a second spiritual home to Join Me… and I found this picture from the first-ever Edinburgh Join Meet back in 2003…

Metal-lovin’ priest Joinee Saunders was there, as were fellow Join Me legends Hodges & Frost, and it set the standard nicely for future Edinburgh meets.

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